Kelsie Jeffords was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was one month old. She has danced since she was three years old, and by seven, she was in love with the sport. Kelsie’s drive and passion landed her a second place finish on “America’s Got Talent”.

Kelsie faced many tough times growing up, especially with her CF. “I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be proud of who I am. What makes me different is what makes me special. It builds character. I think my tough times have made me a stronger person, so I wouldn’t want to get rid of them even if I could.”

A quote that keeps Kelsie positive when feeling down about having CF is, “I have cystic fibrosis; cystic fibrosis does not have me.” This gives Kelsie control of her life.

“Go out and be who you want to be. Let CF make you stronger, not weaker.”

Julie Desch

The youngest of seven children, Julie was confirmed with cystic fibrosis as a baby because two of her older siblings also had CF.

Now a retired doctor, Julie enjoys conducting wellness and fitness training online for people with cystic fibrosis. Julie is also the "coach" for a research project at Stanford/UCSF looking at exercise programs in young children and teens with CF.

Currently, Kettlebell training is the most extreme part of her own training. She is Russian Kettlebell Certified (RKC) which she considers one of her greatest accomplishments because it was one of the most physically and emotionally challenging things she has ever done.

One piece of advice Julie has for the CF community is to MOVE! Movement and exercise is a large part of how, and why, she maintains her health. Julie doesn't let CF be an excuse for anything.

Dr. John Mark

Dr. Mark is a Pediatric Pulmonary doctor at the Stanford Cystic Fibrosis Center. He has a passion for running, reading, and maintaining his home.

Dr. Mark has always been a runner. In 1988 Dr. Mark attempted his first long trail run of 50-miles, and was hooked. He completed the Western States 100 in 1994, and has completed it 18 times since then. He was even featured on the cover of UltraRunning magazine. Dr. Mark finds great joy in running beautiful trails early in the morning when he is truly solo.

One critical piece of advice Dr. Mark offers to the CF community is, “Keep true to yourself, and always think of self care as the most important aspect of your medical care. Do not ever give up any goal even if it seems impossible.”

Vicki Thompson

Vicki was diagnosed when she was 2 years old after her younger brother, Jeremy, was born with cystic fibrosis. She began snowboarding at 12.

Vicki attended high school in upstate NY, with one year at Stratton Mountain Snowboard Academy in Vermont, and attended college in Lake Tahoe, NV. Now in Denver, CO, Vicki is back in school, with plans to apply to graduate programs Art Therapy. Living in Colorado has allowed Vicki to bring greater focus on her health, which has continually gotten better with hard work.

Vicki’s advice to the CF community is, “Be optimistic, motivated and humorous. Bringing humor and laughter into any circumstance will only better it or lessen its hardships. These two qualities will get a person through any situation.”

Jeremy Thompson

Jeremy was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis soon after he was born, as he has an older sister with CF.

Some of Jeremy’s interests include snowboarding, skateboarding, golf, dirt-biking, fishing and hunting. Currently, Jeremy competes in the winter on the global snowboarding circuit. Some of his greatest accomplishments include traveling the world for snowboard competitions and being publicly recognized for his snowboarding accomplishments on magazine covers and photo publications.

Hard work and dedication are part of Jeremy’s character that push him to pursue his passions to the fullest extent and result in great accomplishments. “I try to be the best at everything I get my hands on because I know that my hard work pays off with everything I do.”

“CF doesn’t need to stop you from living your dreams”.

Brooks Williams

Brooks was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 5 months old, but that never stopped him from being active and a competitor. He competed in figure skating until the age of 16 and enjoys running, hiking, biking, climbing, and hockey.

Running became his means to get healthy after having pneumonia when he was 21. It helped him regain his health and get off oxygen to make a full respiratory recovery.

Brooks has finished five 100-mile ultra marathons, including the Leadville Trail 100 three times, with his fastest 100-mile time being 14 hours and 58 minutes. Brooks has had two race victories and many top-ten finishes at the marathon and 50-mile distances.

“Nothing is insurmountable,” advises Brooks. “A positive mindset and strong ambition will allow a person to overcome any perceived adversity they might be facing. Don’t consider CF a handicap or disadvantage in your own mind and it won’t be. Ones’ perception of themselves and their health will lead to it being fact. If you feel sorry for yourself, your health will fail. If you consider yourself capable of doing the same things as those without CF, then that will become your reality. NO PITY PARTIES!”

Brooke Sterling

Brooke was 6 years old when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The oldest of three, she had two younger brothers, one with CF who passed away at 34.

Brooke has enjoyed involvement in all sports including swimming, running, tennis, softball, yoga, basketball, and surfing. She also has been musically involved with the clarinet, drums, flute, and piano, as well as practicing yoga, and various forms of art, including clay and pottery, painting, drawing, and various textiles.

Brooke has owned a successful yoga studio for the last nine years. Her studio is tailored to individuals who work with physical limitation on any level.

The most critical breakthrough in Brooke’s life was the realization that it was going to take a number of approaches to survive CF. This includes (but is not limited to) adherence with medications, practicing yoga, massage, nutritious food, lots of water, taking necessary supplements, positive people, smart clinicians and physicians, Naturopathy, Acupuncture, chiropractors, talk therapists, consciously making living and work environments lovely, and watching thought/speech patterns. For Brooke, this meant, “Demanding survival of myself. Demanding it!”

Matthew Mades

Matthew Mades, currently 27, was diagnosed with CF at 10 months old. His family, friends, and doctors have always encouraged him to stay active and healthy. His parents never held him back from sports or any other activity. He stays active with rock climbing, off roading, hiking & biking, and his latest new found love, Bikram Yoga. In Bikram Yoga, classes last roughly 90 minutes and the temperature is approx. 108 degrees at 50% humidity. Matthew said the heat didn’t bother him as much as expected, which he attributes to growing up in Phoenix, Ariz. The entire class is focused on your breathing and learning how to control that breathing. Through yoga, Matthew has noticed many changes in his daily life such as an increased appetite, weight gain and sleeping better at night.

Matthew has a tattoo on his right shoulder which depicts an old style clock with the numbers falling off. The writing reads “Live Now.” Matthew says this is his life’s motto as he strives to live each day to the fullest. He plans to continue his education in digital media production and vows to never stop Living Xtreme.

Dr. Mark Brown

Dr. Mark Brown has been caring for individuals with cystic fibrosis since 1983. When he’s not caring for patients, Dr. Brown enjoys backpacking and reading (specifically related to mountaineering).

Dr. Brown’s advice for CF patients is, “You are not alone. Take advantage of the CF community. Almost certainly someone else has had the same question, problem, or challenge.” He encourages patients to explore the great number of resources available, and to be persistent in their search for answers.

Barbara Harison

Barbara was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 64 years old. She was the oldest of four children in her family, with a younger sister who passed away from CF.

She enjoys swimming, golf, walking, reading, travel and cultural events and activities. Barbara has swam distance laps three days per week for the past 35 years and attributes her health to that.

Barbara’s primary advice for the CF community is, “Pursue your dreams – push the limits and lead an active lifestyle striving to be all that you can be.”

Dr. Richard Belkin

Dr. Belkin has a special, personal interest in working with cystic fibrosis, and is a national expert in the evaluation and treatment of patients with CF and bronchiectasis. He is the founder and current Medical Director of the new Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Cystic Fibrosis/Bronchiectasis Center. He is also the Co-Director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Center at the Pediatric Diagnostic Center in Ventura, CA.

While he works hard, he also likes to play hard. Dr. Belkin lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, Liza, who practices medicine in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and their two children, Danya (age 10) and Ryan (age 8). In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and golf, and spending time with his family.

Advice he offers to encourage the CF community is “With the newest therapies coming down the pipeline to correct the genetic defect in CF, my sincere hope is that there will be a cure for this devastating disease within this lifetime.“

Malin Glade

Malin Glade, diagnosed at 14 months, is currently in 5th grade. She got started being active through her love for horses and went to horse camp for a few years. She is now very active and involved in soccer, ice-skating, basketball, swimming, horseback riding, and surfing. She also is interested in music and drama.

Malin has learned that sometimes you have to do things you don’t like, but you know are good for you, so she embraces that philosophy for her health. Malin gets a lot of her attitude from her family. Her mother truly believes CF has taught them, “to savor the good, find joy in the moment (those long times doing breathing treatments have been great reading and snuggling times), and really make the most out of everything."

Darby Ralls

When diagnosed at the age of 29, Darby had a twin sister who was diagnosed shortly thereafter. He played sports all the time growing up, and I’ve stayed active even since graduation, playing recreational racquetball, softball, and volleyball. His biggest extra-curricular activity during school was band. I was the drum major in my high school band, and I played tuba in The Pride of Oklahoma marching band for four years. I’ve played with many different groups, and I’ve performed live on over 15 instruments. Currently, Darby fills his free time with jiu-jitsu, muay thai kickboxing, and I spend time with my family and my girlfriend.

His biggest advice for others with CF is, “be aggressive about your treatment. Attack your CF with everything you can throw at it. And exercise, exercise, exercise. Find some form of exercise that you love doing, and do it as often as you can.”

Brian Callanan

Brian is the youngest of five boys, and has been treated for his cystic fibrosis since birth, which was discovered due to his next older brother also living with CF.

Brian has been active in sports and outdoor activities from an early age. Early on, Brian participated in team sports including baseball, soccer, basketball and attended local summer camps. In high school, Brian realized abilities in running and joined the Cross-Country team, as well as the swim team his senior year.

Through these years he also developed a love for skiing, which led him to attend college in Vermont, where he has remained ever since. In the winter, Brian is an avid snowboarder, XC skier and snowshoer. He fills the warmer months with road and mountain biking, hiking, sailing and swimming.

Brian recognized the critical importance of exercise and an active lifestyle on his physical, mental and emotional health as a young adult. With attaining a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Education, he has set out to help others with CF to realize their potential in not only surviving CF, but thriving with it.

Brian’s advice to the CF community offers a different look at living with CF. “My approach to life with CF is much like sailing - taking the wind as an opposing force that should blow you backward, or even knock you over, and harnessing it as a driving force to propel you forward. I aim to utilize my CF for my driving force, and my reason to be as healthy as possible and live life to it’s fullest.”

Ronnie Sharpe

Diagnosed with CF at 6 months of age, Ronnie considers his life a blessing and lives to be a blessing to others. Ronnie has been active since he was young, playing sports year round. In high school, Ronnie played basketball, soccer, and football and was an avid weight lifter.

Ronnie’s passion for exercise continued into adulthood, leading him to coach football at the high school and college level for 7 years, and remain active himself, through running, spinning, and lifting weights. Ronnie believes so firmly that a healthy lifestyle is the key to fighting CF, he keeps a blog and speaks nationally to CF patients and families in order to motivate them to take care of themselves.

When asked his biggest piece of advice for CF patients, Ronnie says, “Put yourself in a position to succeed, each day, through treatments, exercise, and a positive outlook on life. If you put your health first, you’ll be the best version of yourself.”